Illuminating communism's shadows
Vanessa Veiock - The Daily Iowan
Issue date: 9/28/07 Section: Arts
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Saturated with innumerable, carefully sketched dark lines and splashes of glaring red, Peter Sís' new book could be two different things: a children's story about communism or an adult book with illustrations.
"I'm leaving it as a message to find its audience," the author and illustrator said about his latest creation, The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain.
Originally created to help his children better understand his past, the autobiographical, visual narrative is shelved under children's literature, but it prevails as an engaging adult book centered on Sís' childhood in Cold War-era Prague.
The native Czech, who will read from The Wall Sept. 30 at the Iowa City Public Library, 123 S. Linn St., combines simple text with intricate sketches to reveal the sharp realities of growing up brainwashed to believe in communist ideals.
"He drew what he was told to at school," Sís narrates among black and white pages interrupted by crimson missiles and endless vermilion flags. "He drew tanks. He drew wars. He didn't question what he was being told. Then he found out there were things he wasn't told."
Weaving in journal entries and a macramé of old photographs and original drawings, the New Yorker colors an emotionally charged voyage deeper than standard font.
"The illustrations are everything. They tell the story," said Jan Stoffer, the director of education and programs at the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library in Cedar Rapids, where Sís will read on Oct. 1. "It's one thing to write about [communism], it's another to tell about it in the visual medium."
The balance Sís hits is a purposeful one. He declined an offer to expand the book into a 100-page graphic novel because of the haunting effect of reliving long-forgotten memories.
"There was this injustice, but when I was a kid I didn't see it. Now when I look back I get angry," he said. "I didn't want to spend more time on it because it was painful."
"I'm leaving it as a message to find its audience," the author and illustrator said about his latest creation, The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain.
Originally created to help his children better understand his past, the autobiographical, visual narrative is shelved under children's literature, but it prevails as an engaging adult book centered on Sís' childhood in Cold War-era Prague.
The native Czech, who will read from The Wall Sept. 30 at the Iowa City Public Library, 123 S. Linn St., combines simple text with intricate sketches to reveal the sharp realities of growing up brainwashed to believe in communist ideals.
"He drew what he was told to at school," Sís narrates among black and white pages interrupted by crimson missiles and endless vermilion flags. "He drew tanks. He drew wars. He didn't question what he was being told. Then he found out there were things he wasn't told."
Weaving in journal entries and a macramé of old photographs and original drawings, the New Yorker colors an emotionally charged voyage deeper than standard font.
"The illustrations are everything. They tell the story," said Jan Stoffer, the director of education and programs at the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library in Cedar Rapids, where Sís will read on Oct. 1. "It's one thing to write about [communism], it's another to tell about it in the visual medium."
The balance Sís hits is a purposeful one. He declined an offer to expand the book into a 100-page graphic novel because of the haunting effect of reliving long-forgotten memories.
"There was this injustice, but when I was a kid I didn't see it. Now when I look back I get angry," he said. "I didn't want to spend more time on it because it was painful."
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